‘Sisterhood’ play brings meaning with laughs

Five women meet in a church basement to sort through donations. What transpires in Civic Theatre’s comedy involves hidden stories, faith, strong personalities and one huge heap of stuff.

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Stephanie Bosma, from left, as Lorraine Jensen, Beth Butram as Bea Littleton, and Candace Borcz as Tina Yates in a scene from Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette's production of "The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church" Tuesday, September 8, 2015, at the Monon Depot Theatre.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)Buy Photo

Now look away and repeat the title quickly three times. Chances are you’ll stumble over at least one of the 19 syllables, forget the order of the words and giggle to yourself.

And that laughter would be the best place to start when discussing Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette’s first MainStage production this season, which opens this week. Through pithy banter, one-line zingers and a dramatic twist, playwright Bo Wilson winds a tale around five well-meaning women who meet in a Virginia church basement during raging spring storms and flooding in 1977. As they attempt to organize a gargantuan pile of donations, their different personalities, beliefs and stories pop out and demand reckoning just like the items they pull out of the mess.

“You can see the ladies bantering and having fun, and they talk about what others think of them and what they think of themselves,” said director Michelle Bonora.

“I think you can learn a lot about a person by watching how they play and laugh and tease.”

Lafayette boasts the first performance of “The Charitable Sisterhood” in the Midwest; the Virginia Repertory Theatre premiered the comedy in July 2014. The play gives Civic Theatre more credibility, managing director Steve Koehler said, since the organization was able to jump on a new show early in its run and bring in Wilson — an award-winning professional freelance dramatist based just outside Richmond, Virginia — for the opening.

Practicality and simplicity led Wilson to write the comedy. With more actresses than actors, he said, providing more parts for women increases the chances of having a play picked up. Furthermore, he said, his wife acts — she performed in the premiere, according to the script — and he wanted to write something for her. By placing the work in the 1970s and requiring only one set, Wilson said production would be simple, and the play wouldn’t become dated.

The genre — a small all-female cast set in the South — has proved appealing among male and female audience members, Koehler said, citing last season’s “The Dixie Swim Club” and the general popularity of “Steel Magnolias.”

Each of the five women introduces her own definitive personality. The chatty, good-natured Tina Yates stands out as a Yankee among the core of the group, who are longtime Virginia residents. With nine children, Lorraine Jensen has a witty tongue that can clash with Bea Littleton, the take-charge pastor’s wife. Janet Murchison leads with her looks, garnering a reputation as a little less than sharp, and Riley Reynolds brings sweetness and a sense of mystery to the group.

“I think people are intrigued by all the different personalities of women and ... what causes them to have those personalities, especially when they’re a personality that you may be turned off by or you think is negative,” said Stephanie Bosma, who plays Jensen.

“Sometimes we just want to dig into that and see why in the world they’re acting that way.”

The storm and enormity of the sorting task makes for a pressure cooker that quickly draws the women into prickly interactions.

“We’re thrown right into something big and unexpected where we have to get to work,” Bosma said.

Throughout the comedy looms the monster pile of donations — what one actress in the Virginia Repertory Theatre’s premiere called a “sixth character” in a promotional video. Wilson said it provides visual fun for the audience and sets a goofy tone for the play. More than that, the pile supplied him with a creative impetus.

“Any time that I was stuck in the writing, you know it wasn’t a conscious thing, but I think my brain somehow went, ‘Well, let’s go to the pile. Let’s see what else they can pull out of the pile (that can) kick start the next chunk of this play,’ ” Wilson said.

What’s more, Wilson said the items give the actresses something to do with their hands. Bosma said interacting with the stuff — holding up clothes to see the size, for example — keeps those who aren’t part of a particular conversation from sitting idly. Citing the props’ importance, Bonora said she had the actresses practice with them only two weeks into rehearsals.

Collecting a mound of clothes and other items that appeared to be from 1977 and before required resourcefulness. Bonora said a props team and manager were devoted to seeking out everything necessary. While Civic Theatre found some stuff in its own shop, it also requested items though Facebook and mined garage sales, eBay listings, family members’ collections, she said.

Along with the laughs, pile and personalities, faith and community are prominent. Although Wilson said he isn’t a church-going person at this point in his life, questions of spirituality and religion fascinate him. Seeking to challenge the faith-nonfaith binary that has become increasingly politicized in our culture, he said he wanted to show the nuance of human belief and explore a church community that wasn’t associated with a specific doctrine.

“One of things that I wanted to do was to present a couple of persons of faith in ways that are not automatically at war with everyone who doesn’t believe as they believe,” Wilson said.

Bonora and Bosma spoke to the heart and positivity of Christianity’s portrayal.

“I think a few characters come into the play, at least one perhaps, without any faith, and I think she has a true picture of what coming from a selfless place and what putting others first can really do — how you can really impact someone’s life for the better by giving of yourself and by loving them and meeting them where they have a need,” Bonora said.

If you go

What: “The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church”